Emergency Foal Kit

It is essential to be prepared for when your newborn foal arrives. An emergency foal kit stocked with post-birth foal care and emergency supplies is a must.  

This blog will provide a recommended list of supplies you should have on your farm if you are expecting newborn foals. It is always better to be prepared when it comes to horses—hoping for the very best outcomes but ready for any problems.

Have a plan set in place!

• Emergency veterinarian contact number
• Emergency farm personnel contact numbers
• Have the contact numbers located where anyone working with the mares and foals can see them

• Towels- to rub foal with.
• Blankets- to warm foal if needed.
• Pillows- if needed for the foal.
• Thermometer- to check the temperature if the foal or mare is abnormal.
• Timer or a watch.
• Flashlight or portable work light- most mare’s foal in the middle of the night. If your barn does not have good lighting, this will be needed.
• Pen and paper or record foaling form- to keep good records.
• Buckets- to use for many different purposes (e.g., wash the mare’s udder, perineum, and hindlimbs).
• Clean containers/measuring cups/strainer.
• 6 ml and 12 ml syringes- used for administering medication or milk. Use the syringe case to dip the umbilicus or catch milk from the mare to check milk quality. Many other uses.
• Oral dose syringe-to administer medications and there are other uses with this.
• Large syringe- with the end cut off and reversed to milk the mare if needed.
• Large plastic bag with a tie- to place the placenta in for the vet to examine.
• Exam gloves- to handle placenta, or use to clean mare, or handle foal if concern for infection.
• Roll cotton- for cleaning.
• Brown gauze- to tie up the placenta to itself above the mare’s hock so she does not step on it. Should be expelled within 3 hours.
• 4 x4 gauze sponges.
• Bandage scissors.
• Soft rope- that slides easily and is 16-18 feet- use for the Madigan Squeeze technique if there is a concern the foal is a “dummy foal”.
• Vet Wrap or Coflex- to wrap the mare’s tail if needed. Remember to take this off! If left on, it can severely injure the mare’s tail.

• Chlorhexidine (0.5%)- to make use, 1 part 2% chlorhexidine solute diluted with 3 parts sterile water- use to disinfect umbilicus 2-3 times for the first 2 days of life.
• Betadine Solution- 5% Povidone-iodine solution- dilute the betadine solution with sterile water until it looks like a medium brown sweet tea color. This can be an alternative to chlorhexidine to disinfect the umbilicus. Some sources report dilute chlorhexidine to be more effective. Do not use tincture of iodine.
• Syringe case or naval dipping tube- put the chlorhexidine in the tube and then immerse the entire umbilical stump in solution for a few seconds.
• Umbilical tape or clamps- use if the umbilicus is bleeding or the cord did not rupture on its own. Do not use rubber bands.
• Karo syrup- to rub on the foal’s gums if concerned for hypoglycemia.

• Fleet enema.
• Enema tubing- examples are red rubber catheters, Dover flush enema tubes, and stallion urinary catheters can be used. Any soft, small in diameter, long tubing.
• Ivory soap- mix with warm water to make a warm, soapy water enema.
• Sterile lubrication- apply on the end of enema tubing or fleet enema tip.
• Measuring cup.
• Catheter tip syringe- take the plunger out of the syringe, insert the tip of the empty syringe on the end of the enema tubing, and pour water by gravity into the open bottom of the syringe. Administer about 200ml of water per enema.

• Large syringe- with the end cut off and reversed to milk the mare if needed, or you can use your hands.
• Clean containers/measuring cups/strainer.
• Colostrum or milk collection and storage bottles if you want, but any closed container will work.
• Argyle foal stomach tube (16french, 122cm)- if a foal has not nursed and needs colostrum, tubing a foal with colostrum by a trained personnel or veterinarian is better than administering colostrum by a syringe or bottle because it reduces the risk of aspiration pneumonia.
• Catheter tip syringe.
• 6ml or 12ml syringe.
• Bottle with lamb’s nipple- a smaller nipple will reduce the amount of milk leaking out, hopefully reducing the risk of aspiration pneumonia. Always have the foal in a sternal position or standing up when using a bottle. If a foal has no suckle reflex or cannot swallow, do not feed by bottle or syringe. If you see milk coming out the nose, then stop feeding by bottle.
• Small foal drinking bucket- if have to bucket train a foal for a specific reason (e.g., orphan foal, mare rejection, the mare has no milk).
• Milk replacer– You don’t have to have this right away, but you might want to have it on hand if you need it for any reason. If you don’t have a large foal operation, then you can get a milk replacer when/if you need it. Hopefully, you will not need it.

These are supplies for a foal who has diarrhea. If your foal has diarrhea, call your veterinarian immediately to determine if your foal needs a veterinarian check.

• Vaseline or Desitin cream- helps prevent diarrhea scalding of the perineum and hindlimbs.
• Roll cotton- use to clean with when giving a butt bath.
• Anti-diarrheal medications- Biosponge paste, lactaid tablets to help digest the milk when the gastrointestinal tract lining is inflamed by infectious causes of foal diarrhea (buy at any drug store), probiotics (e.g., FullBucket Foal Probiotic Paste). Talk to your veterinarian about which medications to give. Your veterinarian might provide you with additional medications.
• Biosecurity measures– Set up a boot bath outside the stall to prevent the spread of disease and use exam gloves when handling the foal. Boot baths can be made from bleach water, diluted rescue solution, or Lysol mixed with water. Isolate a foal with diarrhea away from the healthy foals and talk to your vet.

The decision to have the supplies listed below depends on several factors, such as the size of the foal crop, the size of the operation, the level of trained personnel, the individual investment in supplies you want to have, etc.

• Cameras- I personally think cameras are always good to have when you have horses.
• E-Z Breather Foal Resuscitator- for CPR.
• Nasal aspirator- for aspirating fluid out of the foal’s nose post-birth; this is rarely required.
• Equine colostrum refractometer- good for evaluating the colostrum quality.
• Stethoscope- have your vet show you how to use it.
• Obstetrical Sterile sleeves- for sterility; if you have to determine the position of the foal inside the mare- if the mare is having problems foaling.
• Obstetric nylon straps- to help pull foal. Know how to use these properly so you do not cause injury to the foal.
• Predict a foal foaling kits- there are many different kinds.
• Banked equine colostrum.
• Medications for the mare- if she does not let the foal have the initial nurse- acepromazine, dorm gel, Banamine paste- talk to your veterinarian about these medications.

The above list is extensive and includes the must-haves and optional supplies. They are provided so that it can get you thinking about what is going to work for your foal operation. In this section, I have listed what I think are the absolute essentials that should be in your foal kit.

Thermometer, towel, scissors, flashlight, timer, umbilical tape, umbilical disinfectant and umbilical dipping tube, fleet enema, sterile lubrication, exam gloves, 6 and 12ml syringe, catheter tip syringe, sterile obstetrical sleeve, brown gauze, 4×4 gauze sponges, clean bottle container, pen, and measuring cup.

If your foal demonstrates:

• Lack of nursing- usually the first sign of disease
• Depression
• Milky nose- when a foal has milk on the nose because the foal stands under the lactating mare but does not nurse
• Colic
• Swollen joint or lameness
• Swollen umbilicus
• Diarrhea
• Abnormal mentation
• There are many more clinical signs that should raise concern, but those listed above are common signs.

• Animal Reproduction Systems Inc. (arsequine.com)
• HOME | equineneonatalmanual
• Local drug store
• Other online stores

If it is a healthy foal- Make sure there is no amnion covering the nose, check the umbilicus for bleeding, disinfect the umbilicus, stay with the foal to ensure the foal stands and nurses within 2 hours, and if it has not, then call the vet. Make sure the environment the foal is housed is cleaned; replace any bloody bedding with clean bedding. Make sure the foal passes the meconium, and if the foal is straining to defecate, then administer an enema to the foal. Ensure the mare accepts her foal and lets it nurse. Observe that the foal has a normal affinity to the mare. At 12 hours of age– Have your vet check IgG levels and perform a new foal exam. A foal should nurse several times an hour.

There is an extensive list mentioned in the above blog. The shorter list if the foal is born uneventfully is umbilical disinfectant, fleet enema, towels, bucket to wash the mare’s udder and hind limbs, brown gauze or bailing twine to elevate placenta to the level of the mare’s hocks, so she does not step on it, clean bedding, Banamine paste for the mare after she passes her placenta, plastic bag to save placenta in for the vet to examine,

See the above blog. A shorter list includes a thermometer, towel, scissors, flashlight, timer, umbilical tape, umbilical disinfectant and umbilical dipping tube, fleet enema, sterile lubrication, exam gloves, 6 and 12ml syringe, catheter tip syringe, sterile obstetrical sleeve, brown gauze, 4×4 gauze sponges, clean bottle container, pen, and measuring cup.

Foals are wobbly usually for the first 1-6 hours and should stand within 1 hour of birth. They need some time to learn how to use their legs. Foals could start to frolic and buck by 4 hours of age. The general attitude and movement of foals are hyper, swift, and jerky. Foals are easily aroused by people but can sleep deeply. A normal foal, when aroused, will jump up and run to the far side of the mare.

Newborn Foal Exam

Neonatal Foal Behavior- What’s Normal

Farm Tips- Initial First Aid for the Abnormal Foal